Framework for creating modular web applications

• US 20040268228A1
• Filed: 06/19/2003
• Published: 12/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kothari, Nikhil, Harder, Michael, Lindhorst, Gregory S., Croney, Joseph Keith
• Granted Patent: US 7,281,202 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

A framework for creating modular web pages. The framework enables the development of modular, customized, and personalized web applications including web portals and web pages. The framework includes an extensible part base class and an extensible zone base class. Part controls that derive from the part base class include web part controls, editor part controls, and catalog part controls. Zone controls, editor zone controls, and catalog zone controls derive from the zone base class. Each zone control contains one or more part controls and each zone is responsible for rendering part controls within each respective zone. Web part controls can communicate with other web part controls. Web part controls can be edited, removed, or added to a zone control. The functionality of part controls can vary widely among the part controls in a particular zone and across different zones.

Claims

1. A framework for creating modular web applications, the framework comprising:

one or more part controls, wherein each part control has one or more properties that permit each part to be rendered like other part controls;

one or more zone controls, wherein each zone control arranges at least one of the one or more part controls within each zone; and

a web part manager that tracks which of the one or more part controls are within each zone control.

2. A framework as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more properties of each part control enable a particular zone control to render a consistent user interface for each part control within the particular zone control and where a functionality of each part control is different.

3. A framework as defined in claim 1, wherein the part controls are created from one or more part base classes.

4. A framework as defined in claim 3, wherein the one or more part base classes include a part base class, a web part base class that derives from the part base class, a catalog part base class that derives from the part base class, and an editor part base class that derives from the part base class.

5. A framework as defined in claim 4, wherein the editor part base class is used for modular controls that set control properties including one or more of personal settings, layout properties for the one or more part controls, and behavior properties for the one or more part controls.

6. A framework as defined in claim 4, wherein the catalog part base class is used for modular controls that provide a catalog of web parts that can be added to at least one zone control.

7. A framework as defined in claim 5, wherein the one or more zone controls are created from one or more zone base classes.

8. A framework as defined in claim 7, wherein the one or more zone base classes include a zone base class used to layout controls that inherit from a part base class;

a web part zone base class that derives from the zone base class and is used for web part controls;

an editor zone base class that derives from the zone base class and is used to layout editor part controls used to layout editor controls, and a catalog part base class used for catalog controls.

9. A framework as defined in claim 1, wherein the web part manager is a part control and each zone control registers with the web part manager.

10. A framework as defined in claim 9, wherein the web part manager tracks connections between the one or more part controls and wherein the web part manager adds, removes, and moves part controls from a web page.

11. A framework as defined in claim 1, wherein at least some of the one or more part controls include an interface for communicating with other part controls.

12. A framework as defined in claim 11, wherein the at least some of the one or more part controls register the interface with the web part manager.

13. A framework as defined in claim 1, wherein at least some of the one or more part controls include a plurality of interfaces for communicating with other part controls and wherein the at least some of the one or more part controls register the plurality of interfaces with the web part manager.

14. A framework as defined in claim 13, wherein at least some of the plurality of interfaces are the same interface with different semantics.

15. A framework for creating web pages that are customizable by both developers and users, the framework comprising:

a part base class from which part controls are derived, wherein the part controls include one or more of a web part, a catalog part, and an editor part;

a zone base class from which zone controls are derived, the zone controls including one or more of;

a web part zone that is used to arrange web parts contained in the web part zone;

a catalog zone that is used to arrange catalog parts contained within the catalog zone; and

an editor zone that is used to arrange editor parts contained within the editor zone.

16. The framework as set forth in claim 15, wherein each instance of a part control is defined in an instance of a zone control.

17. The framework as set forth in claim 15, wherein each instance of a part control within a particular zone control has a similar user interface.

18. The framework as set forth in claim 15, wherein at least some of the part controls include a connection end point for connecting with another part control within the same zone control or within another zone control.

19. The framework as set forth in claim 15, wherein the editor zone is adapted to provide for user input of properties defined in the part base class.

20. The framework as set forth in claim 19, wherein the properties are exportable.

21. The framework as set forth in claim 20 wherein the user input of properties is exported using an XML document.

22. The framework as set forth in claim 15, further comprising a web part manager class wherein the web part manager class tracks any instances of the part controls contained within the zone controls.

23. The framework as set forth in claim 22, wherein a particular part control can be dragged and dropped within the same zone control or to another zone control.

24. The framework as set forth in claim 15, wherein a particular catalog part is adapted to provide a list of web parts that may be selected by a user to be added to a particular zone control, wherein the particular catalog part includes means for allowing a user to select from the list of web parts that are added to the particular zone control of a web page.

25. The framework set forth in claim 15, wherein each part control is declared in a persistence format file.

26. The framework as set forth in claim 15, where the part base class includes one or more of:

properties to ensure that each part control is rendered with a similar user interface;

a frametype property to define how a particular zone control renders a user interface around each part control in the particular zone;

a roles property to define which users a particular part control is available; and

one or more part icons for each part control.

27. The framework as set forth in claim 15, wherein each web part includes one or more of:

a connection interface for communicating with other web parts;

an enable personalization property for enabling personalization of the web part;

a help property;

one or more allow properties that determine what user interface is exposed to an end user;

a frame state to define if a web part is minimized, maximized or normal.

a hidden property such that the web part is not displayed when true;

a zone property to identify a zone control that contains the web part;

a zone ID that contains an ID of the zone control;

a zone index that includes an index of the zone control relative to other web parts in the zone control;

28. The framework as set forth in claim 27, wherein the editor part is one or more of:

an appearance editor part that sets user interface properties of a web part, wherein the user interface properties include one or more of a title, a height, a width, a framestate, and a frame type;

a layout editor that sets layout properties of a web part, wherein the layout properties include one or more of a hidden property, a zone property, and a zone index property;

a behavior editor part that sets behavior properties;

a property grid browser editor part that displays properties marked as web browsable; and

a custom editor part.

29. The framework as set forth in claim 15, wherein the catalog part exposes a user interface that permits an end user to add new web parts to a web page.

30. The framework as set forth in claim 15, further comprising a web part manager that manages all part controls on a particular web page, wherein the web part manager is responsible for one or more of:

tracking web part controls on the particular web page;

tracking web part zone controls on the particular web page;

keeping track of connections between part controls on the particular web page;

initiating communication between part controls; and

tracking an edit state of the particular web page.

31. The framework as set forth in claim 30, wherein the web part manager exposes one or more methods for adding, removing, and moving part controls.

32. The framework as set forth in claim 31, wherein the one or more methods are invoked by catalog parts, editor parts, and zone controls.

33. The framework as set forth in claim 29 wherein the user interface may be used by an administrator to add new web parts to a web page for all users.

34. The framework as set forth in claim 19 wherein the user input of properties sets those properties for all users, and the user input of properties is performed by an administrator.

35. The framework as set forth in claim 15 wherein properties are defined in the part base class, those properties being definable in a persistence format by a web page developer.

36. A method for creating a web page that is modular and customizable by either a developer or an end user, the method comprising:

declaring at least one zone control in a persistence format file, wherein each zone control derives from a zone base class;

declaring at least one web part control in each zone control, wherein the web part control derives from a part class; and

rendering, by each zone control, user interface elements of each zone control and some user interface elements of the at least one web part control such that each at least one web part control has a similar appearance within each zone.

37. A method as defined in claim 36, wherein declaring at least one web part control in the zone control further comprises declaring the at least one web part control in a control format file.

38. A method as defined in claim 37, further comprising declaring a web manager part, wherein the web manager part tracks the at least one web part control in each at least one zone control.

39. A method as defined in claim 38, further comprising the web manager part initiating a connection between a first web part control and a second web part control such that the first web part control communicates with the second web part control.

40. A method as defined in claim 36, further comprising exporting a particular web part or properties of the particular web part.

41. A method as defined in claim 36, further comprising importing a particular web part or properties of the particular web part.

42. A method as defined in claim 41, further comprising setting at least a portion of the properties of a current web part control using imported properties.

43. A method as defined in claim 36, further comprising defining a roles property for each web part control to specify users that can access each web part control.

44. A method as defined in claim 36 further comprising one or more of:

editing a particular web part control using an editor part that derives from the part class, wherein the editor part is contained within an editor zone;

adding additional web part controls to a particular zone using a catalog part that derives from the part class, wherein the catalog part is contained within a catalog zone;

removing selected web part controls from a zone;

permitting one or more properties of each web part control to be customized by an end user; and

allowing end users to share personalizations to web part controls.

45. A method as defined in claim 36, further comprising using properties of the part controls to enable an end user personalize the part controls.

46. A method as defined in claim 36, further comprising using properties of the part controls to prevent an end user from personalizing the part controls.

47. A method as defined in claim 36, further comprising declaring properties in the persistence format to control the rendering of the user interface elements to all end users.

48. A method as defined in claim 36 further comprising interacting with the user interface elements of each zone control and the some user interface elements of the at least one web part control to control the similar appearance for all users.

49. A computer program product having computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 36.